Chapter 52: Invitation for infiltration!

This happened four years ago.

In a day of a certain month, out of nowhere, the King summoned a certain group of three people to a location that was held in absolute secrecy.

For that, they were escorted through a series of dark tunnels that lied beneath the palace.

Of course, they obviously did not know the reason why, but it was more than clear that it was important.

Extremely important.

If not, then there would be no reason for such level of secrecy.

In any case, the tunnels kept getting more and more difficult to navigate as they continued their descent, which made them glad that they had someone guiding them.

Then, after having descended even more, one of them noticed that the once plain walls of the tunnels were replaced by ones with markings on them.

Not only that, but the tunnels themselves felt different. As if they were much, much older.

Indeed, it was as if they had gone into a different set of tunnels.

Curious, one of the people summoned looked back and confirmed that that had been the case for a while.

As they advanced, the markings grew more and more complex until they turned into a carved mural with strange symbols and figures.

None of which they had ever seen before.

"It is as if the carvings are telling a story."

Said one of them in awe.

"That is because they are."

Said their guide in a matter-of-fact tone.

"But we've been having some trouble deciphering anything more than that. For example, the symbols there are not in any of the books of the great library and our scholars have yet to find any reference to them..."

Their elven guide then suddenly stopped, putting an end to her explanation and illuminated the wall that blocked their way, for they had seemingly found themselves in a dead end.

"In any case that is not why you have been summoned here; this is."

The guide put her hand on the wall as she covered it in mana and pushed a particular part of it. Soon enough, something clicked, and the wall moved, revealing what could be considered a secret chamber or more like…a massive cave.

It even had a lake of fresh water and the usual stalactites here and there.

And on its deepest part, those summoned saw various excavation equipment and people.

But none of that was what took their eyes in astonishment, for that feat was achieved by a massive door that looked as if it was coming out of the rock wall of the cave.

Which was the case, as those summoned there quickly noticed that parts of it were still covered in rock, indicating that it had been excavated fairly recently.

Furthermore, it had the same mysterious symbols and figures found on the walls behind them. Although, they gave the impression that they acted as some sort of seal for the door, as they were arranged in a way that formed a circle right in the center of it.

"It is good to have you here, gentlemen."

Said a female voice that almost startled the dumbfounded men.

It belonged to one of the advisors of the King, Hilde Val.

"This is..."

Said one of the men as it found himself unable to hold back their amazement any longer.

A reaction that made Hilde smile, but rather than her providing any explanation about the place, she preferred to let the man that had arrived beside her talk.

The King.

"Impressive, right? That is the door to making history. For what lies behind it is a power that shall bring this world’s woes to an end. Baron Sven, Baronet Locke, and Baronet Greese. Are you willing to joining me in the path that shall bring this kingdom to a new glory?"

With that, the King waited for their responses as Hilde provided them with even more information, information that shocked them, information that filled their eyes with the same strong belief that the King had and so, they knelt before him as their answer.

He smiled.

_________________________________________

After I managed to get that gal off me, the conversation was able to get back on track and now Erevain has asked about the general state of the Kingdom.

“Hehe…”

*poke*

“…!”

And now this gal just poked my ribs!

Seriously, this gal just likes to get all touchy feely with me at every chance she gets!!

Don’t you see that Gabrielle has been emitting all that intense pressure since you started doing it?!

Heck, even Mika and Bertia are doing so too!!

As to Erevain, she seems calm about it.  Probably because she knows her at a more personal level due to her past.

But still...

Character who gets touchy and teases the protagonist...check...

"The Knight's Orders suffered many losses in the attack of five years ago. The Twilight Shields being the ones who had the most losses while the newly created Bulls of the Zenith had the least.”

“Of course, they did…”

I concur with Gabrielle’s angry murmur right there.

“That meant that there was a need to appoint and train those who were worthy, but...even to this day those numbers have not increased that much. And, sadly, it is not because there is a lack of talent, but a lack of people. A sense of distrust was born that night. Distrust of the king, the knights and the one named as 'Fallen Prince'.”

“…”

While Erevain seems calm, the other maids are not. They are trying to hide it, but I can see that they are angry and saddened.

“That is why the citizens were not that eager to volunteer then, even after being found worthy. Instead, those people volunteered to enter the Church’s forces. And it was all because of a misunderstanding.”

“What kind of misunderstanding?”

So asks Erevain.

“Well, many of them believed that we were involved with the miraculous activation of the teleportation circles that night. Sadly, we were not. And we declared it so. Many times. But that did not dissuade them, for it was also believed to be the divine intervention of the Goddess.”

Of course, they had to deny it. If they didn’t, that balance that Ludovica mentioned could have been in danger. Furthermore, they were being honest about it. So that’s nice.

“In any case, that distrust and lack of manpower is what has led to the state that the Kingdom is still in. Monsters on the roads, bandits raiding villages, patrols being ambushed or just too slow. Not to mention an increase in the spread of diseases due to the late arrival of medicines needed to effectively curb said spread. Lastly, the Bulls of the Zenith…they cannot fill the void they left, and it shows in their results."

Julian can’t show any more frustration and disappointment than what he is showing right now, and he wasn’t hiding it in the first place.

"Tch…the king can say all he wants, but the bodies that are left in the wake of their 'tactics' or 'well thought retreats' speak for themselves. Fools…"

A paladin scoffs like that and Julian signals him to mind his manners before continuing.

“It has gotten to the point that we as the Church have offered our help to the Kingdom, but even then, it will still take years to get things back in order…”

Some of the Paladins nod at Julian's words while others shake their head showing their frustration.

All while Erevain maintains her calm and collected expression.

She probably already had an idea of how things were going to be in the Kingdom.

And with everything we have seen on our way here, it isn't difficult to believe that.

I mean, it is indeed strange to have four monsters like the S.Spriggans that close to the Capital.

So, perhaps that is why she doesn't seem shocked or angered.

Also, I think that she might be happy because the prayers she made five years ago were heard.

Which begs the question...

How was Erevain still alive when they found her? Was she somehow kept alive by the moonlight roses that covered her? Because that little detail from Erica’s part of the story is pretty much screaming that. So…did you do it, Nerinne?

"Fufufu~~~, I thought you would never ask, dear. It is simple, the one who blessed her with that attribute was moved by Erevain's battle and judged her worthy of saving."

The one who blessed her with that attribute…? Nerinne...I didn't take you as one of those who refer to themselves in third person...

It's kind of...creepy.

"You dummy dear!! I am not talking about myself!! I am not one of those pompous gods!!! Mou!! I was referring to one of my administrators!!"

Aaah, yeah. Riiight, administrators...

"I am not lying!! I am not creepy!! That girl saved her!! I mean it!!"

Hahahaha! Ahh…it feels so good teasing you like this.

"...dummy dear..."

Then, who is that 'girl'?

"Hmph! Now you will have to wait!"

Hey! Come on! Tell me!

"No, that is what you get for teasing me. Fufufu~~."

Fine...I'll use my instinct!

"That is cheating! And you will spoil yourself of a very nice surprise!!"

I don't care.

"It is really nice. I mean it dear. It will be a 'check' as you say."

You...! Using my 'no spoilers' principle against me!

Fine...I won't use my instinct!

But I better go nuts with that surprise!

"Hmm, well dear. Knowing you, I think you will. Fufu~~."

We’ll see about that.

Anyhow, I glance again at Erevain and she seems to be pondering about something.

She is probably thinking about what she is about to say and how is she going to say it.

"I see, thank you, Mr. Julian. It is indeed frustrating to see this once shining capital covered in the shadow of such problems. All brought by the foolishness of its head. I...am saddened, but at the same time I am confident. Confident that this will end with the measures that we started to take today. Our cause is just. The Goddess is with us. And we will change this saddening situation."

So declares Erevain with a fiery determination in her eyes, one that spreads not only to the Maid-Knights, but also to Julian and the other Paladins, because all of them have the same look in their eyes.

Good.

Of course, I need to say something too.

“Hmph, as expected of you, Eresh. Well said. Now, there is no need for me to say who our main targets are, we just need to deal with them. And for us to do that, we need a way to infiltrate the palace. So, do you know of one, your Holiness? If not, we can make one. We have the power and the means to do so.”

Hearing my words, Ludovica starts to ponder while tapping the side of her mouth with one of her fingers.

Meanwhile, the Paladins seem confused at my words.

They probably think that I’m crazy.

Oh well, it is obvious that they would think that.

After all, anyone with common sense would know that that place is well guarded.

But, sumanai, I will follow isekai law and blow common sense away.

One way or the other.

"Ah! Since we are super best friends, then we should call each other with our first names! No honorifics too!"

This gal...

"Just answer my question..."

I say so in an obvious exasperated tone...

“Nuh-uh~.”

Aaaand she just says that with a mischievous smile on her face, all while wagging her finger at me in a 'no' motion.

"I will, but only if you call me Ludovica. Please? Hehe~~~."

"Haaaa…Ludovica."

Yeah, sorry, but that’s all you get.

"Muh...you really are no fun. Even if you did call me by my name, it just feels like it’s a bother..."

YOU THINK?!

"But since you did call me by my name, I will tell you.”

With that, she pulls out an envelope from her robe-covered chest and smiles smugly at me.

She really is a gal…

“There is no need to make a path into the castle when you have an invitation."

Ludovica winks at me while pointing at the seal on the envelope, a seal that has the same emblem as the one on the flag of the Kingdom.

___________________________________________

"A ball? What is Father thinking?"

Said Prince Licht while he worked on various documents in his office.

"...maybe it is to find you a marriage partner, Prince Licht."

His maid, Mary, did not answer his question immediately, but did so after she finished reading one of the documents she was organizing.

"There is no time for things as ridiculous as that. Not only is the Church already looking into the Illumbee village case, but now there’s also those knights that keep appearing in the reports. And they seem to be making their way to the Capital, which is most troubling. Yet, after knowing all of this, he decides to throw a ball?”

Finding himself frustrated about such situation, the prince leaned on his chair and stared at the ceiling for a moment, trying to comprehend the actions of his father.

"The Church doing their move was a risk I accounted for, but those knights...they could ruin everything I have been working on."

"...with one of you down it seems likely."

Said Mary coldly, making the prince laugh wryly.

"Yes...Hilde's sudden illness is another thing I did not account for. Still, for her to collapse like that is more suspicious than worrying."

At that moment, Prince Licht remembered how his fellow advisor collapsed right in the middle of the morning meeting. He remembered how hard she tried to stop herself from screaming due to the intense pain and she managed to do so until she lost consciousness.

"Nothing seemed wrong with her before that happened. Even more, she has never given any signs of even catching a cold. No matter how hard she pushed herself or how many sleepless nights we spent working on one of our projects, she always appeared fine, well-rested and healthy. Could it be related to her secret? Or could this be the work of someone? But who? No...with the name those troublesome knights took and the prophecy Baron Cuhalin gave us, I can already guess who. After all, he has people with him that are capable of causing something like that."

With that, he opened the special drawer in his desk and pulled out a certain metal pin.

"Are you here already, dear Elder Brother? Was that your doing? I wonder what face you made when you saw the state of this Kingdom. Will you be enraged at me? Disappointed? Or will you simply let that storm you are supposed to bring with you raze everything?"

He smiled dubiously as he talked to the emblem on the pin, blushing with every word that left his lips.

"But I am sorry, dear Elder Brother. I must do something before receiving your righteous wrath. But do not worry. If I am to die, it will be by your hands."

His smile widened as he said that and then he let out silent laugh.

Meanwhile, Mary looked at him and shook her head ever so slightly as she sharpened her gaze.

_______________________________________

Master has given me another mission in which I cannot disappoint her.

She has entrusted me, Allegra, Jules, and Sophie, with capturing people suspected of being part of the hidden faction that has been cooperating with the Violet Death.

They are responsible for lying about us and forcing us to escape into the forest.

Still, I liked living in the forest. That is my home field. I like the relative peace it gives to the ones who know how to live there. I like the greens, the browns, the grays, and the colorful animals that can only be found there.

It is simple. It is nice.

The capital is not.

Too much noise. Too many smells. Too many people.

It gives me what Allegra calls as 'mental static'. Where if I lose focus, all the sounds around me will fuse into one deafening hiss. That is why I always stick to the roofs. These hard and deteriorated rock roofs. Of course, no one will notice me while I climb up the walls of the nearest building.

This hard sensation in my hands is not something I missed, but it is still nostalgic. Nostalgic of the times I climbed these walls frequently. When Allegra would try to find me, and I tried to make it difficult for her. It was fun, it helped me focus.

Now that I have reached the roof, I am greeted by a view of the city that someone else might find beautiful. Allegra is one of them. She always says that my love for the forests is the same as her love for cities. ‘Testaments to the ingenuity of the races’ that is how she sees them. But the roofs also provide me of something else...a vantage point where I can locate my targets and decide the best route to take when and after I capture them.

So, I run, fast, faster, jumping from roof to roof, silently evading with ease any lookouts for those who still rely on them. I’m also covered by my [Shroud of Deception], which not only fools the senses of those weaker than me, but also interferes with detection magic or detection-based skills. And thanks to Master and the Goddess, this spell is even more powerful thanks to my uniform.

At first it was strange being a woman and using this outfit, the new sensations, a certain…absence, the breeze and other things that make me embarrassed when I think of them. But now it feels as if this has been the body I was born with. It all feels natural. When I jump, I know exactly how much force I need to put on my legs and feet. When attacking, everything flows into place without worrying about being slightly off because of my different center of gravity.

"..."

There.

I can see it.

The area where my targets live, Griffith Street.

A place where the nobles who work in the Kingdom's offices live. Because one of the privileges that Nobles have, is having their workplace near their homes. Although, that was by design because it was done with work efficiency in mind. And that was something that one of the previous regents thought about when designing this area.

It is here, in this street that is full of white, ostentatious houses, were I can find my two objectives.

One oversees the reserves of materials needed for weapons, armor and so on in the Capital. He used to be the assistant of the old man who was in charge back when I was a knight.

That old man…

He liked the forest too.

He always talked about retiring to a family cottage in a village near the forest. Even if I never answered his questions, he always talked to me and seemed to know that I was listening attentively.

I hope that he is alright.

Meanwhile, his assistant always seemed eager to do more, urging the old man to name him his successor. He would even risk his life in order to gather materials on his own.

An impatient fool.

His name, Locke Boid.

As I move closer to the roofs of the surrounding buildings, I can see near an alleyway one of the false sewers that this Capital has.

False sewers are access points to a web of tunnels beneath the city. To the uninitiated, it is a labyrinth left by those who built this city where one can enter and never come out. But for those that have authentic knowledge of them, then it is one of the best ways to traverse the city unnoticed. Some even connect to houses and buildings. There are so many different paths that no one has been able to completely map them, not even Allegra.

That is my exit route.

My second target is the man who oversees the production of the equipment for the Orders, the guards and the soldiers.

His name is Sven Lugh.

He is a stern looking man that hasn’t changed much in all these years, except for his children growing up. I remember that he used to take his baby girl with him when he made his rounds checking on Roxxy's forge and the other smithies. He would usually talk with Roxxy about blacksmithing techniques and how to optimize production.

He also got mad every time Kris destroyed her armor in battle. It was as if one of his veins were going to pop. I wonder what could have happened for him to join something as vile as "New Glory".

Still, I hope he isn’t part of it...

He seemed like a good man.

My targets live in the same row of houses, one on each corner.

So, I go for the farthest one first.

Given the nature of their jobs, they are in a constant flow of communication, either magical or written, so I have to be quick and precise.

“…”

I am already inside Sven's house and as the information suggested, he is still here. His children already left for school and his wife has her usual patrols as a guard.

Also, there are not many maids in this house, which makes it easier for me to knock them out and leave them in separate rooms and not worry about another one waking them up. That way they will only attract the unwanted attention of the guards after they wake up.  But by then, I will be long gone, and Master may even finish with them too.

After all, when it comes to stealth operations, even the act of alerting the enemy of what happened is a valuable tool.

That is what grandpa used to say.

Master realizes that too and I know that she has something in mind for that.

"These Bulls are asking again for weapons made of adamantite?! Are they crazy?! It will take an order like this up to a year to be completed! Even more if our reserves get depleted by these idiots!!"

Good he is distracted.

I sneak behind him and use my enhanced strength to knock him out with a chop to the back of his neck.

“I need to talk to the King about this! He can’t keep letting the—GUH?!”

Of course, I catch him immediately and place him carefully on the floor.

A week ago, I would have needed to use one of my subjugation skills, but not now.

In any case, I grab all the documents in his drawers and even those on his safe, storing them in a separate space with one of my uniform’s abilities. Then, I carry Sven on top of my shoulder and cast [Shroud of Deception] on him too. That way no one will notice him. His weight is not a problem for me thanks to my enhanced strength too.

With that, I exit his house through the back and jump to the roof with ease. I then run and jump to the roof of Locke's house, leaving Sven there before entering it. With the force that I hit him with, he will not wake up for a few hours or unless someone uses a stimulant on him.

“Matilda, is the soup done yet?”

“Yes, I’ll start with the servings in a bit.”

“Coraline, master is going to need some tea soon.”

“I know, I’m already brewing it.”

“Have you finished cleaning the basement, Davida?”

“Of course.”

I see.

Locke has more maids in his house, which makes knocking them out and hiding them more difficult, but that is not a problem. I sneak through the house and 'mark' each and every one of them. Then, I just wait for the right moment when all of those 'marks' are lined up in way where I can use my skill.

"...!"

There!

“…[Foxhunt]…”

“—?!”

“—?!”

“—?!”

My body moves instinctively at high speed, knocking them out one after the other in quick succession.

“A—?!”

“Ma—?!”

“In—?!”

Just when one is going to scream or alarm the other, they get knocked out too and so on until every maid is down.

“…”

This skill puts a burden on my body the more 'marks' are taken down. Even more so in enclosed spaces like a house, where one must even run on the walls or jump to evade other objects while being 'pulled' to the next mark. But as I am now, I feel that I could mark up to 20 people before feeling any effect.

“Coraline, where’s my tea?”

This target is inside his office too and is calling out to one of the maids.

“Coraline?”

Now he is coming out to see why she is not going to him.

“Coraline, are you lazing around agai—NGH?!”

The moment he comes out I knock him out with a punch to the face. But it seems that it did not fix his annoying face, a shame.

“…”

After leaving him on the floor, I take all the documents I can find in his office and store them just like before.

With that, I do the same thing I did to Sven and then I go to the false sewer while carrying both. Of course, I wait until the street leading to the alleyway is empty of carriages and many people. One can never be too cautious in open spaces.

The tunnels are dark and humid for the most part.

Still, some have magical torches like the ones the Royalty has knowledge of, though they are a small percentage. But ever since I joined Master, I am able to see in the dark without a problem. At first that surprised me because I thought that I had used one of my spells that has the same effect, but that was not the case. I can even use it at will, which makes it easier for me to sleep when Allegra is reading in my room.

I run while carrying them both, using my knowledge of these tunnels until I find the one tunnel that has a stylized 'A' carved on its wall. That is Allegra's signature and that means this tunnel will lead me to the area near the inn where Master and the rest of us are staying.

Master Auros, I will never fail you. So please keep trusting me and treating me the way you do.

"Because...you are nice."

To be continued...(cue over complicated map of the tunnels that is totally not the author just throwing spaghetti at a piece of paper and then tracing it)

Sorry for the delay! I wasn't feeling so good since sunday, that is why I took a day off. But I feel better now. Please look forward to it! Thank you for reading! If you wish to help me commission some cute Luca art, please consider donating to my Ko-Fi! You will get all of the updates and the final product when it's finished!

Special thanks from the bottom of my heart to: EmbraceTheSleeb, Lord-Hollow, YukisoraRin, LordInquisitorSteele, Anon and Anon2!

See you tomorrow!